It’s preview time again! And boy do we have a doozy today. Take a look . . .
No, your eyes don’t deceive you. That’s not a misprint or some weird HTML shading problem. She’s really got a black border. Black. Just like her code name. Well, half her code name, anyway . . . what were we talking about again?
As you’ve probably guessed by now, Yelena’s slick new border is tied to the brand new mechanic in Marvel Knights: The Hidden Area.
Let’s take a breath and dive right in. (We’ll talk about Yelena herself in a minute.)
Here’s the info on the hidden area straight from the Marvel Knights boxtopper (the little insert we stick inside a booster box that tells you all about the new rules in an expansion):
Ninjas, vigilantes, and dark warriors stalk their prey from the shadows; criminal masterminds look down from behind impregnable walls; mentors support their students from behind the scenes; and diabolical demons plot their schemes from the underworld.
The Marvel Knights expansion adds a new dimension to the Vs. System:
The Hidden Area!
In game terms, the hidden area is an addition to the normal in-play area. The hidden area is made up of a front row and support row to the left of the normal area. Characters in the hidden area are just like characters in the normal area with one exception:
A character in a hidden area is unable to be attacked (unless a card says otherwise).
In fact, for the purposes of proposing an attack, a player can ignore each other player’s hidden area.
Visible Vs. Hidden
Each player’s normal front and support rows are now called his or her visible area.
In addition, each player has a second front and support row to the left of his or her visible area called his or her hidden area. (Leave a space between each area to make sure all players can tell the difference between them.)
A character in a visible area is “Visible.”
A character in a hidden area is “Hidden.”
A character (whether it is visible or hidden) can only attack a visible character.
If a player controls no visible characters, or if all of his or her visible characters are stunned, that player may be attacked directly (even if he or she controls one or more hidden characters that are not stunned).
So How Do I Get to the Hidden Area?
There are two ways a character can enter the hidden area:
Concealed Characters
Some character cards have the keyword concealed. A character card with concealed comes into play in the hidden area. (All other character cards come into play in the visible area.) A character card with concealed can easily be identified by its darker border.
Movement
Some effects allow a character to move from one area to another.
Example: Out of the Darkness reads, “Target hidden character’s controller moves that character to his visible area.”
Movement between areas works just like normal movement. When changing areas, a character can be moved to any unoccupied position in the new area.
A character can only move between areas if the effect specifically says so. If an effect just instructs a player to move a character, he or she may only move it within its current area.
Example: Marie Laveau reads “Pay 2 endurance >>> Move each of your characters.”
Her power allows you to move all of your visible characters within your visible area and all of your hidden characters within your hidden area.
Similarly, when you move your characters as part of your formation step, you move each of them within its current area.
Additional Information on the Hidden Area
Adjacency
Characters in the visible area are not adjacent to characters in the hidden area. Leave space or an empty column between both areas such that all players can tell the difference between your areas.
Attacking and Team Attacking
A character in the hidden area can attack as normal. (It is just unable to be attacked.)
Characters in two different areas (controlled by the same player) can team attack as normal.
Modifiers
While a player’s characters are now divided into two areas, they are all still part of the in-play zone. A modifier that affects a player’s characters will affect characters in both of his or her areas.
Equipment
Unless otherwise noted, equipment may only be equipped to a character in the visible area.
Equipment Changing Areas
If an equipped character moves from a visible area to a hidden area or vice versa, all equipment equipped to it is put into the KO’d pile. If an effect would transfer an equipment from a visible area to a hidden area or vice versa, it remains where it is instead.
Danny’s Imaginary Hidden Area FAQ
All right, that was a lot of info for you to swallow, and I’m sure you have a bunch of questions. So uh, I guess I’ll make up a bunch of questions and hope they’re similar to the ones you’ve got. Let’s begin.
What’s the visible area?
The visible area is the “normal” front row and support row. It’s where you’ve been putting your characters and equipment. In fact every game of Vs. you’ve ever played up until now has involved the visible area—you just didn’t know it.
Okay, so what’s the hidden area?
The hidden area is a new front and support row that’s off to the left of the visible area. In the hidden area, you’ll find characters that hide in the shadows or operate from behind the scenes.
Characters in the hidden area cannot be attacked (unless a card tells you otherwise). Let me say that one more time just to make sure you get it: Characters in the hidden area cannot be attacked (unless a card tells you otherwise).
And how does “concealed” fit into all this?
Concealed is a keyword that means “This character comes into play in the hidden area.” Unless a character has concealed, it comes into play in the visible area.
So a character with concealed counts as a hidden character?
Not exactly. A character with concealed comes into play in the hidden area, but it might get moved to the visible area through a card effect. Once a character is in play, its hidden/visible status is determined solely by which area it is in.
What’s the black border for?
The black border is an easy way for you to quickly identify which character cards in your hand have concealed. Also, it looks cool!
Okay, so a character in the visible area is visible and a character in the hidden area is hidden. And a hidden character cannot be attacked. Got it. Hey, does that mean if all of my characters are hidden I can’t be attacked?
Not at all. In fact, if you don’t control any visible characters, or if all of your visible characters are stunned, you can be attacked directly. Bam!
Waitaminute! Then why would I want hidden characters?
The short answer is “You’ll see why once you start playing with them.”
The long answer is that having characters that are safe from harm can have lots of benefits. Some examples are . . .
Since your characters are less likely to become stunned (and therefore KO’d), you’ll be able to sustain a larger board presence.
Some characters might have really cool powers, but their stats are so small you’re afraid to put them into harm’s way. If they’re in the hidden area, you don’t have to worry about protecting them.
Each of your hidden characters will have the option of attacking every turn—even when you don’t have the initiative. And some characters (like today’s preview) really like to attack.
Can my hidden characters attack another player’s hidden characters?
No. Unless a card effect tells you otherwise, a hidden character cannot be attacked. Here’s the breakdown—
Visible characters can attack visible characters.
Hidden characters can attack visible characters.
What about team attacks?
Team attacks work just like normal. You can team attack with a hidden character and a visible character together if you want.
What about reinforcement?
Reinforcement works just like normal in the hidden area—a support row character can reinforce an adjacent defender that shares an affiliation with it—however, a character in the hidden area is never adjacent to a character in the visible area.
Can characters move between the hidden and visible areas?
Yes, if a card effect tells them to.
So I can use Burn Rubber to move a visible character to my hidden area?
Hold on, Charlie! You can only move a character to a different area if a card effect specifically says so. Normal movement effects like Burn Rubber or Combat Reflexes can only move a character within the area it’s currently in. So you could play Burn Rubber to move a hidden character within the hidden area or to move a visible character within the visible area.
Also, as part of your formation step, you get to rearrange your characters. You rearrange your hidden ones within your hidden area and your visible ones within your visible area.
What happens if I propose an attack on a character and then my opponent moves that character to his or her hidden area?
Let’s walk through it.
- You propose an attack, proposing a legal attacker and a legal defender.
- Your opponent plays a plot twist that moves the proposed defender to his or her hidden area.
- When you check legality in order to begin the attack, the proposed defender is no longer legally able to be attacked, therefore the attack won’t occur.
This is similar to exhausting a proposed attacker before the attack begins. In both cases the attack won’t occur.
What happens if the attack has already begun and then my opponent moves the defender to his or her hidden area?
The legality of a proposed attack is only checked once. Once an attack has begun (after the attacker(s) have exhausted),there’s no way to make it illegal. This means that the attack will continue even though the defender is now hidden.
This is similar to what would happen if you attacked a front row character, and, after the attack had begun, that character was moved to the support row where it was protected by a character. In cases like that, the attack will still continue.
Okay, let’s say I have a modifier that’s affecting all my characters. Will it affect my hidden character, too?
Yes. Both your hidden and visible areas are part of the same in-play zone. Let’s say you have The New Brotherhood in play. It will affect both your hidden characters and your visible ones.
Also, let’s say you have Tibetan Monks in your visible area. You could activate the Monks to give a Dr. Doom in your hidden area +2 ATK and +2 DEF.
What’s the deal with equipment in the hidden area?
Unless the equipment card says otherwise, you can only recruit it onto a visible character. This is similar to how a character will come into play in the visible area unless it says otherwise.
And what happens if a character with equipment on it changes area?
As they say, “You can’t take it with you.” The equipment goes to the KO’d pile. Some equipment is too powerful to be in the hidden area. I mean, it’s hard to say hidden when you’re using a flamethrower.
All this stuff about the hidden area sounds cool, but what happens if my opponents and I are playing a game with characters that don’t go in the hidden area?
Well, then you can just ignore the hidden area for that game. The hidden area is still there, but you won’t use it until a card tells you to.
Okay, I think I understand everything, but wasn’t there supposed to be. Like, a preview or something?
Oh yeah! Let’s get to it.
Yelena Belova’s Widow Black Dress
At first glance, Yelena looks life a variation on Arkham’s Charaxes. In fact, she’s got weaker stats (5 ATK/3 DEF for 3 is better, pound for pound. than 6 ATK/6 DEF for 4) and a drawback that prevents her from team attacking. So what’s so great about this character (other than the fact that she’s a hot secret agent instead of a scary moth creature)? Of course, it’s that she comes into play in the hidden area.
While Yelena’s stats are kinda small, as long as she remains hidden, your opponents’ characters won’t be able to attack her. That means she’ll get to pick her battles. Plus, since she can’t be attacked, she’ll most likely have the ability to attack every turn (instead of just when you have initiative, which is usually the case with Charaxes). And even better, unlike Charaxes, who usually requires some Fear and Confusion or help from Puppet Master to exhaust his prey, on turns where you don’t have the initiative, your opponents will be faced with a tough choice:
Make their normal attacks, leaving their characters exhausted and vulnerable to Yelena’s widow’s kiss
or
Forego their normal attacks, essentially allowing you to steal their initiative.
It’s true that Yelena can’t team attack, which means you’ll have to be able to pump her ATK if you want to take down a 7 DEF or higher character, but on the other hand, unlike Charaxes, Black Widow can cause breakthrough.
You know, maybe I haven’t been fair to Charaxes. I mean, he’s a cool guy. Perhaps instead of comparing him to Yelena, I should be trying to set them up. You know, put them into the same deck . . . it could be the basis of a nice insect-themed deck. Maybe add some Spider-Men and Women, some Nightcrawlers, some Fireflies, and maybe a Forager or two (he’s a bug warrior!)
Okay, well done if you made it all the way to the bottom.
Tune in next week for a look at a card that turns your KO’d pile into a barracks—and for a look at the “Dave Humpherys is Crappy” FAQ.
Send questions or comments to dmandel@metagame.com.
